Hrbowski

No way would I trade Gibson. I believe he still has the makings of a really good pitcher.

http://cdn.baseballamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Matt-Manning-2015-bm.jpg Image courtesy of Bill Mitchell Matt Manning is a 6'6", 185 lb. right handed pitcher from Sheldon High School in California. Manning was primarily throwing in the low nineties last year, but he shot out of the gates after a late start this spring, throwing up to 97 miles per hour. Matt's curveball is a good secondary offering that keeps getting better, and his changeup should be a big league average offering. The Loyola Marymount commit's height gives him good downward plane, and although his delivery has some effort he does repeat it well. Manning is very athletic, which is no surprise seeing that his father played in the NBA, and his natural talent as an athlete will be very useful on the mound. Manning will need to improve his control, but once he does he should be a Rick Porcello type pitcher in the middle of a rotation. The Twins have been scouting Manning this spring, with some believing he is their favorite, and if other players at the top of their board are gone they could very well select the California righty.

Yeah, I spent nearly all my free time in the last weak working on 2017 draft stuff.

I wish the Braves would win.

Just finished my 2017/2018 draft post and checked on the game for the first time. Plouffe doesn't look hurt.

http://wac.b63f.edgecastcdn.net/80B63F/images/sidearm.sites/gatorzone.com/images/2015/12/16/150301_SchwarzJJ_9983_TimCasey.jpg JJ Schwarz #1 Mark Vientos - Shortstop - Florida High School Elite prep player who is similar to Manny Machado, but will stick at short. #2 J.B. Bukauskas - RHP - North Carolina This righty has the makings of an ace. #3 Jeren Kendall - OF - Vanderbilt Five tool college player. #4 Jake Burger - 3B - Missouri State In my opinion he could be the next Kris Bryant. #5 J.J. Schwarz - C - Florida A future all star backstop. #6 Cole Turney - OF - Texas High School Terrific prep hitter. #7 Kyle Wright - RHP - Vanderbilt Advanced pitcher for a very good school. #8 Brendan McKay - LHP - Louisville McKay has the repertoire of an ace. #9 Alex Faedo - RHP - Florida Really good pitcher for the best school in the country. #10 K.J. Harrison - C - Oregon State Harrison can flat out hit. #11 Alejandro Toral - 1B - Florida High School There is some big pop in this bat. #12 Hagen Danner - RHP - California High School The best prep pitcher in the class. #13 Conner Uselton - OF - Oklahoma High School Five tool prep player who has a very high ceiling. #14 Jordon Adell - OF - Kentucky High School Big time talent for this five tool player. #15 D.L. Hall - LHP - Georgia High School Best prep lefty who really knows how to pitch. #16 Kyle Jacobsen - OF - Georgia High School Jacobsen continues the long line of really good Georgia outfielders. #17 Ryan Vilade - SS - Texas High School Vilade reminds me of a lesser version of Brendan Rodgers. #18 Hans Crouse - RHP - California High School More of a thrower than a pitcher, but he has a ton of potential. #19 Tristan Beck - RHP - Stanford Beck told teams not to draft him right before last year’s draft, and now is the top draft eligible sophomore in next year’s draft. http://www.stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Tristan-Beck_022016_BD_027.jpg Tristan Beck #20 Evan Skoug - C - TCU Skoug has tons of potential at the plate, but there are questions about whether or not he will remain behind it. #21 Carl Chester - OF - Miami Can hit for average and has good speed that will help him stick in center. #22 Alex Destino - OF - South Carolina Destino will likely move to right, where his arm and bat profile well. #23 Jayson Gonzalez - SS - California High School There are still questions about J-Gon, but he has tools you can dream on and is really smart. #24 Ricardo De La Torre - SS - Puerto Rico High School Athletic shortstops from Puerto Rico have a history of success in MLB, and De La Torre should be no exception. #25 - Alex Lange - RHP - LSU Lange positioned himself to be the #1 pick during his freshman year, but he has not performed well this spring. #26 - Tanner Houck - RHP - Missouri Houck is a tall righty who has good stuff. #27 - Pavin Smith - 1B - Virginia Some scouts think that his limited defensive value could hold him back, but he can really hit. #28 - Hunter Greene - RHP - California High School The UCLA commit is very athletic and has a good feel for pitching. #29 - Drew Rasmussen - RHP - Oregon State Rasmussen is out with Tommy John, but if he makes a good comeback next year he could go at the top of the draft. #30 - Je’Von Carrier-Ward - Outfield - California High School This kid has great tools and is very athletic for his 6’5”, 190 lb. frame. #31 - Michael Baumann - RHP - Jacksonville The Mahtomedi, Minnesota native is a big righty who should move quickly. #32 David Peterson - LHP - Oregon Peterson has missed time with injuries, but he is another guy who could move quickly. #33 Riley Adams - C - San Diego Even though Adams is 6’5” and 190 lb. he should stick behind the plate and hit well enough to be a regular starter. #34 Kyle Hurt - RHP - California High School Really good righty who has feel for pitching. #35 Shane Baz - RHP - Texas High School Texas fireballer who is young for his class. #36 Tanner Burns - RHP - Alabama High School Burns has good stuff and could really shoot up boards within the next year. #37 Nick Allen - SS - California High School Allen is a standout defensive player who can also hit. #38 Royce Lewis - IF/OF - California High School Lewis will likely end up in the infield, and his unusual batting stance works well for him. #39 Oraj Anu - OF - Florida Home School Anu is a switch hitter who has really good speed. #40 Dalton Guthrie - SS - Florida Guthrie is the son of former Twin Mark Guthrie, but Dalton is probably a better player than his dad. #41 Tristan Gray - SS - Rice Gray is a good shortstop who can also hit. #42 J.J. Matijevic - 1B - Arizona Matijevic has yet to stand out as a potential first round pick, but he should make big strides in the next year. #43 Francis Villaman - SS - Florida High School Although he is not as good as his predecessor at short for his high school (Nick Gordon) Villaman should stick at short and if teams believe he will hit enough he could be a first rounder. #44 Sam Carlson - RHP - Minnesota High School Carlson has some of the best pitchability in the draft, but the Florida recruit will probably go to college. http://www.d1baseball.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/BryceMontesDeOcaMissour700.jpg Bryce Montes de Oca #45 Bryce Montes de Oca - RHP - Missouri Bryce throws at 98 and could really move up boards in the next year. #46 Brady Puckett - RHP - Libscomb Puckett stands out as a 6’8”, 220 lb. righty. #47 Chris Mathewson - RHP - Long Beach State Mathewson is a guy who could move quickly, similar to Daulton Jefferies of this year’s class. #48 Clarke Schmidt - RHP - South Carolina Schmidt is having a breakout year in 2016, and if he repeats it during his junior year his stock will skyrocket. #49 Evan White - OF/1B - Kentucky White can flat out rake, but he will likely move to first as a pro. #50 - Austin Beck - OF - North Carolina High School Beck rounds out this list as another athletic prep player with a high ceiling. http://collegebaseballcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Kade-McClure.jpeg Kade McClure Others to keep an eye on: Adam Haseley (LHP/OF - Virginia) Garrett Benge (3B - Oklahoma) Glenn Otto (RHP - Rice) Griffin Canning (RHP - UCLA) Jesse Lepore (RHP - Miami) Matt Whatley (C - Oral Roberts) Mike Papierski (C - LSU) Stuart Fairchild (OF - Wake Forest) Kade McClure (RHP - Louisville) Keston Hiura (IF/OF - UC Irvine) http://collegebaseballcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Seth-Beer.jpg Seth Beer 2018 college guys: Seth Beer (OF - Clemson) Luken Baker (1B/RHP - TCU) Chandler Day (RHP - Vanderbilt) Nick Madrigal (SS - Oregon State) Jackson Kowar (RHP - Florida) Tyler Ivey (RHP - Texas A&M) Sean Hjelle (RHP - Kentucky) 2018 high school guys: Jarred Kelenic (OF - WI) Kumar Rocker (RHP - GA) Kendall Simmons (SS - GA) Brice Turang (SS - CA) Brandon Birdsell (RHP - TX) Alec Sanchez (SS - FL)

I think he will go in the top ten rounds, but he isn't wowing scouts.

Third round talent? He will be gone before we pick in the second round.

JJ Schwarz, Haggen Danner, Jeren Kendall, and Brendan McKay are all high on the top 50 I am working on for next year.

Yeah, Shore would be the safest pick and he is used to pitching in the cold. If the Twins go college player I think Shore would be their guy, so that is why I threw that name in there.

Anderson has some red flags: Has been sidelined with an oblique injury this spring, signability questions, etc. Forrest Whitley would probably be my personal pick at #15 if that was how it fell out, and even though tall pitchers' bodies often break down at a young age there have been a few like Wainwright and Halladay who are very similar to Whitley. Manning, Connor Jones, and Logan Shore would likely be under serious consideration there.

I don't have an account, so is it okay if we talk about it here?

Yeah, I have been doing more research on that draft than the 2016 draft.

I dunno. There is one guy I absolutely want, but we will see.

Why is Blankenhorn so low? In my book he is definitely a top 20 prospect.

The Sox will likely ask for something very similar. Swihart is a young, cost controlled catcher who has tons of potential. The Red Sox are in no hurry to part with him, so they are not going to trade him this early in the season unless they are absolutely blown away by your offer.

Why? There isn't much in this draft, especially when you get into the middle of the first round, so you might as well shoot for a player like that and hope he is the next Trout.

No way. You would have to give up way too much. Probably Berrios, Gibson, and Murphy is what they would ask for first.

Lucky you... I only get to see Minnesota prospects.

William Benson is a 6'6", 220 lb. outfielder from The Westminster Schools in Georgia who will be seventeen at the time of the draft. Benson continues the long line of toolsy players from the Georgia prep ranks, and his athleticism is what stands out the most on a baseball field. Will has some of the best raw power in the class and he hits well on the inside part of the plate, but he needs to improve his coverage on the outer part of the plate. The Duke commit has a compact swing that works well for him, yet he can get caught up in the moment and start loosing control. He has fallen down boards somewhat as the spring has progressed, so if he is not taken in the first round signability could be an issue. Benson has a lot of natural baseball talent, and he plays good defense in the outfield and at first base, but his size will result in an eventual move to right field. The Twins are paying close attention to Benson, and if the players at the top of their board are gone it would be no surprise to see them take him.

Terry Ryan has little to do with the draft. It comes down to Deron Johnson, Mike Radcliff, the area scouts, and crosscheckers.

I'm watching the Cubs-Nats game, and Harper is the King of Walks.

http://www.post-gazette.com/image/2016/03/23/ca0,0,2589,1726/20160323MWHkirilloffSports11-10.jpg Image courtesy of Michael Henninger Alex Kirilloff is a 6'2", 195 lb. outfielder from Plum High School in Pennsylvania who has helium in this draft. Kirilloff is a raw player who has a lot of talent, yet he has not gotten as many opportunities to show scouts what he has compared to Mickey Moniak and Blake Rutherford, both from California. Kirilloff's best tool is his power, but he has a strong enough arm to play right field, and the rest of his tools will profile well as a corner outfielder. Although there are some concerns that his swing will get out of control and he may not be able to hit for a very high average in the majors, he has performed well against the top prep arms in this year's class. Alex is committed to Liberty University, so if he falls there should not be any issues about signability. A native of the Pittsburgh area, Kirilloff has impressed scouts with his makeup both on and off the field. The Twins could have interest in Alex Kirilloff because he is a fairly athletic prep player, and that seems to be their focus in this year's draft.

They are heavily scouting him, and most people in the industry believe they will go with a high school player.

"Urine trouble."